Japan’s futuristic fighters

The Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) have been planning to supplant their current fleet of Mitsubishi F-2s with a new generation fighter in the 2030s. There have been reports that Lockheed Martin have offered Japan a stealth fighter, as a hybrid based on its F-22 and F-35 with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to produce the wings while Mitsubishi Electric would work on the avionics (see Vayu Issue IV/2018). However, there are reports that the Japanese are also in discussion with the UK on a futuristic fighter project, possibly based on the Tempest which is a sixth generation concept led by BAE Systems ( see Issue IV/2018).